Note: Joe Thornton Calls The Rangers Soft

Update: 10:10PM: On the postgame show on MSG, Stan Fischler asked Torts about Thornton's comments.

Tortorella responded with "wonderful,"

Original Post: On the postgame show on MSG, Joe Thornton called the Rangers "soft" and calls them the softest team that they played on their road trip. Thornton said that the Sharks should have won tonight.

Brandon Dubinsky responds by saying that the Rangers played very well tonight and deserved the two points that they won. Dubinsky said that tonight's win was the closest to how the Rangers want to play throughout the season.

The Rangers had 28 hits in the game.

Interesting words from Thornton. They won't play again this season unless it is in the Stanley Cup finals.

Skjei and McDonagh are spending the summer working out together

Aug 17 | 5:33PM

Share:

Apr 8, 2017; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; New York Rangers defenseman Brady Skjei (76) skates with the puck in the third period against the Ottawa Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre. The Senators defeated the Rangers 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports (Marc DesRosiers)

Ryan McDonagh and Brady Skjei have been working out together 5 days a week in advance of training camp beginning next month. (NYR)

Skjei said that they spent the first part of the summer getting stronger and are now working on their speed and conditioning. (NYR)

Their trainer Dan Meinz said that he is in contact with the Rangers strength and conditioning team about the key areas that the players need to focus on this summer. (NYR)

Alain Vigneault said that he has only seen Anthony DeAngelo once but all of the people he has spoken with say that DeAngelo is "legit" and ready to "tale the next step." (NHL.com)

Vigneault said that he has spoken about DeAngelo with Rangers GM Jeff Gorton, with the team's scouts as well as Newell Brown, his former assistant in Vancouver, who was with DeAngelo in Arizona last year. (NHL.com)

He said that everyone he has spoken with says that DeAngelo will help the Rangers play their "quick north/south transition game" and on the PP. (NHL.com)

The Rangers are still near the bottom of the league in prospect rankings

Aug 16 | 2:09PM

Share:

May 4, 2017; New York, NY, USA; The New York Rangers salute their fans after defeating the Ottawa Senators in game four of the second round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports (Brad Penner)

Corey Pronman ranks the Rangers farm system 29th out of 31 teams, saying that while they added talent during the 2017 draft those players were added to a shallow group that now "brings the system just a notch above awful." (ESPN Insider)

Zuccarello on the business side of things and Hagelin on the Rangers and Pens

Aug 16 | 8:56AM

Share:

Feb 2, 2017; Buffalo, NY, USA; New York Rangers right wing Mats Zuccarello (36) waits for a faceoff during the third period against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center. Rangers beat the Sabres in overtime 2 to 1. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports (Timothy T. Ludwig)

8:55AM: Mats Zuccarello said that it's "sad" to see players like Derek Stepan and Dan Girardi that have been important players and good friends leave the team but that "this is a business." (VG)

Carl Hagelin, who is in Norway to play in Zuccarello's charity game, said that Zuccarello continues to assume more responsibility and "he will have a good year this year." (VG)

Hagelin also described the differences between his teams with the Rangers and his current team in Pittsburgh by saying that the Penguins have Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and that they create opportunities every time they are on the ice. (VG)

He followed up by saying "we did not have that with the Rangers." (VG)

Henrik Lundqvist was on the ice with Lias Andersson and Frolunda today

Aug 15 | 10:59AM

Share:

Sep 25, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Team Sweden goalie Henrik Lundqvist (30) warms up prior to the semifinal game against Team Europe in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports (John E. Sokolowski)

Henrik Lundqvist is on the ice in Sweden and practicing with his former team of Frolunda. (Expressen)

Lundqvist was on the ice with his brother Joel as well as Rangers first round pick Lias Andersson. (Expressen)

The Hockey News has the Rangers in the Wild Card for the playoffs

Aug 14 | 6:13PM

Share:

May 4, 2017; New York, NY, USA; The New York Rangers salute their fans after defeating the Ottawa Senators in game four of the second round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports (Brad Penner)

8/7/17 | The Hockey News has released their 2017-18 yearbook and has the Rangers finishing in fourth place in the Metro Division and, again, taking the first Wild Card spot.

They have Tampa Bay finishing as the overall number one seed in the East and hosting the lower seeded Wild Card Carolina in the playoffs.

Because of that the Rangers stay in the Metro bracket for the playoffs and they have the Penguins defeating the Rangers in the first round.

Read More

Share:

The different ways that Chris Kreider scores

Aug 14 | 12:37PM

Share:

Apr 20, 2017; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; New York Rangers forward Chris Kreider (20) prepares for a face off during the overtime period in game five of the first round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports (Eric Bolte)

According to TSN, Chris Kreider leads the NHL in goals that have been tipped or redirected from 2014-15 to 2017.

Kreider's 19 goals is just above Joe Pavelski and Wayne Simmonds.

Travis Yost wrote that for a player who is mostly known for his speed, Kreider can score in a "variety of ways" and shows that he isn't just a "one-dimensional player." (TSN)

Aug 11 | 2:51PM

Henrik Lundqvist ranked as the 8th best goalie in the NHL

Aug 11 | 12:24PM

Share:

Apr 8, 2017; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist (30) is hurt after blocking a shot in the second period against the Ottawa Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports (Marc DesRosiers)

In a list compiled by the NHL Network, Henrik Lundqvist was ranked as the 8th best goalie in the NHL heading into this season.

Ryan McDonagh was on NHL Tonight last night and said the following about the upcoming Rangers season:

"It will be exciting. Pretty big turnover, a little turnover every year from one season to the next but two guys, two key guys that have been with me since the beginning of my time with New York, Girardi and Stepan, moving on to different teams. It will give us a different look as far as the veteran leader role. Guys will step up in that area but you talk about the additions, we had Brendan Smith for a little bit of our playoff run and what he brought was much needed for our blue line. You add the element of Kevin Shattenkirk and how he can play with and without the puck. He's obviously wondrous with the puck and I'm looking forward to seeing him contribute to all areas of our game."

On Shattenkirk, who was not ranked on last year's list, they wrote "the biggest free agent of the summer, Shattenkirk even gave his hometown Rangers a discount. In exchange, New York gets an elite puck-mover in his prime."ere he was already the Rangers'

On McDonagh, who was ranked 50th last year, they wrote "getting an elite, right-handed "D" partner in Shattenkirk is going to unlock McDonagh in New York, where he was already the Rangers' premier defenseman.

Vigneault said, "when you see guys that have potential you want to help them deliver that potential. There is a lot of potential there and trying to work with him, and he's trying to work with me and the coaches to try and become the best player that he can be."

Miller told Dan Rosen of NHL.com that he is happy that Vigneault has been hard on him in their time together and that he still is.

The Rangers Top 10 prospects according to The Hockey News

Aug 7 | 12:14PM

As part of their 2017-18 yearbook, The Hockey News has the Rangers Top 10 prospects listed as:

Lias Andersson (C)

Igor Shesterkin (G)

Anthony DeAngelo (D)

Adam Huska (G)

Filip Chytil (C)

Sean Day (D)

Ryan Graves (D)

Ryan Gropp (LW)

Tyler Wall (G)

Tim Gettinger (LW)

On Andersson, they wrote "The Rangers weren't the only team picking in the top 10 that wanted Andersson, but they struck first so they get the spoils. A fast, competitive two-way force, Andersson is a coach's dream. Excellent hockey sense, work ethic and plays 200ft game. Needs to get bigger.

Lias Andersson was a leader for Sweden at the World Juniors camp

Aug 6 | 3:01PM

Share:

(David Banks)

Lias Andersson scoredthrice for Sweden during the World Junior Summer Showcase and added 1 assist and 11 shots on goal.

Swedish coach Tomas Monten said of Andersson, "Lias is a player that leaves everything on the ice every time. That's a big key factor for your team. We need the leadership, that kind of work ethic on the ice." (NHL)

How David Desharnais played after being traded to the Oilers

Aug 6 | 9:19AM

Share:

Apr 6, 2017; San Jose, CA, USA; Edmonton Oilers center David Desharnais (13) controls the puck against the San Jose Sharks during the second period at SAP Center at San Jose. The Edmonton Oilers defeated the San Jose Sharks 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports (Stan Szeto)

When the Oilers acquired David Desharnais at the trade deadline this past year, Peter Chiarelli said that Desharnais is an undersized player but strong on the puck and competitive. (Sportsnet)

Chiarelli noted that he had seen Desharnais a lot when he worked for Ottawa and Boston and said that he's a smart, experienced player who makes smart decisions without the puck. (Oilers)

Desharnais played in 18 games for the Oilers, scoring 2 goals, 2 assists, a minus one rating, 16 shots on goal, 24 shot attempts, 54.3% on faceoffs and an average of 11:21 per game.

He played in 13 playoff games for the Oilers, scoring once, adding three assists, 6 shots on goal, 47.4% on faceoffs and 9:32 per game.

Benoit Allaire has been the most important person to Henrik Lundqvist with the Rangers

Aug 5 | 1:06PM

Share:

( Adam Hunger)

Following his 400th career win this season, Henrik Lundqvist spoke about goalie coach Benoit Allaire and said that Allaire has been the "most important person" to him during his time with the Rangers. (NYR)

Lundqvist said, "to have that consistency and someone who is so positive and so much structure in the way that he works. You get to know him over the years and he knows me really well, how I work, how I feel and it's just fun." (NYR)

He added that Allaire "knows how to push me and without question he has meant a lot to me personally and to my game and to develop it. I adjusted my game through the years and he has been a big part of that." (NYR)